Wheel.



No. 729,068. PATENTED MAY 26, 1903. W.H. HENDRICKS.

WHEEL.

. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 11- 1902.

N0 MODEL.

. UNT'TTED STATES Patented May 26, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. HENDRICKS, OFMIDDLETOWN, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOCHARLES C. DRULEY, OF MIDDLETOWN, INDIANA.

WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 729,068, dated May 26,1903.

Application filed September 11, 1902. Serial No. 122,995. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,WILLIAM H.HENDRIOKS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Middletown, in the county ofHenry and State of Indiana, haveinvented a new and useful Wheel, of which the following is aspecification.

The invention relates to improvements in wheels.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofmetallic wheels and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficientwheel of great strength and durability in which the parts may be readilyassembled and which may be readily adjusted to strain the spokes to thedesired tension.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and pointed.

out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of aportion of a wheel constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2is a sectional view of the central portion of the wheel. Fig. 3 is adetail view of the dovetailed ring which receives the inner ends of thespokes. Fig. 4 is a detail view of one end of a spoke and a taperingsection or thimble. Fig. 5 is a side elevation, partly in section,illustrating a modification of the wheel. Fig. 6 is a sectional view ofthe central portion of the same. Fig. 7 is a detail view of one of thehub-sections. Fig. 8 is a similar view of the other hub-section.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawtugs.

l designates an axle-box having right and left hand threaded portions 2and 3, receiving hubs which are composed of inner sections 4 and outersections 5, the inner sections being provided with interior right andleft hand screw-threads to correspond with those of the axle-box,whereby when the axle-box is rotated the threaded hub sections will bemoved inward or outward, according to the direction of the rotation ofthe axle-box. The inner threaded hub-sections are provided at theirperipheries with annular grooves 6, receiving dovetailed rings or bands7 and having undercut or inclined walls to conform to the configurationof the side edges of the ring or band. The outer hub-sections 8 areprovided with inner inclined faces to fit the beveled side faces oredges of the rings or bands, and they have smooth openings to receivethe axle-box. The inner sections are engaged by jam-nuts 9, arranged onthe axle-box or bearing-sleeve and adapted to be adjusted after thehub-sections have been adjusted to strain the spokes 10 of the wheel tothe desired tension.

The outer hub-sections are engaged by threaded devices or nuts 11 and12, having right and left hand screw-threads and arranged on the ends ofthe axle-box. The inner threaded device 11 consists of the sleeve andextends over the collar 13 of the axle 14., and the outer deviceconsists of a cap which "receives the axle-nut 15, and by thisconstruction a dust-proof bearing is provided. The axle-nut is arrangedon the threaded portion of the spindle of the axle and engages the outerend of the axle-box in the usual manner.

The spokes are provided at theirinner and outer ends with heads 16 andare arranged in openings 17 and 18 of the folly 19 and the rings orbands heretofore described. The felly may be of any desired constructionand receives a suitable tire 20, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.The'openings of the felly and the dovetailed rings or bands are ofsufficient diameter to permit the heads of the spokes to pass throughthem, and after the spokes have been passed through the said openingstapering thimbles are placed on them. These tapering thimbles, which arecomposed of sections 21, have cylindrical openings to conform to theconfiguration'of the spokes, and are countersunk at their larger ends toreceive the heads of the spokes, which are tapered, as shown; but thismay be of any other desired'construction. After the spokes have beenassembled in this manner the sleeve or axle-box is rotated to strainthem to the de sired tension.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings is illustrated a modification of the inventionin which double spokes are employed, each pair of spokes beingconstructed of a single piece of material, as shown, and the innerhub-sections 22 located at opposite sides of the wheel and the doublespokes are disposed in a similar manner.

What I claim is 1. In a wheel the combination of an axlebox having rightand left hand screw-threads, hubs arranged on the axle-box and composedof inner and outer sections, the inner sections being threaded to engagethe threads of the axle-box and provided with a groove, ringsinterlocked with the sections of the hubs and provided with centralopenings to receive spokes, and threaded devices arranged on theaxle-box and engaging the inner and outer sections of the hubs,substantially as described.

2. In a wheel, the combination with a folly, of an axle-box having rightand left hand screw-threads, hubs arranged on the axlebox and composedof sections, one of the sections of each hub being interiorly threadedto engage the threads of the axle-box, spokes extending from the hubs tothe folly, jamnuts arranged at the inner faces of the hubs and engagingthe axle-box, a sleeve arranged at the inner end of the axle-box andengaging the inner hub, and a cap fitting over the outer end of theaxle-box and engaging the outer hub, substantially as described.

3. In a wheel, the combination of an axlebox having exterior screwthreads, a hub composed of a threaded section, and a smooth section andprovided with a dovetailed groove, a dovetailed ring arranged in thegroove, and spokes connected with the felly and with the ring,substantially as described.

4:. In a Wheel, the combination of an axlebox having right and left handscrew-threads, hubs having inner threaded sections for engagingtheaxle-box and provided with smooth outer sections, jam-nuts arranged atthe inner faces of the hubs, threaded devices located at the ends of theaxle-box and engaging the outer sections of the hubs, a fel-ly havingopenings, spokes detachably interlocked with the hubs and having headedends arranged in the openings of the telly, and sectional thimblesfitted on the headed ends of the spokes and engaging the folly,substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. HENDRICKS.

